Somewhere in the depths of YouTube, someone has uploaded a complete recording of the Joeys’ opening match at the 1999 Under-17 World Cup in New Zealand. Almost comically, an American commentator on Fox Sports World introduces the team to face Brazil by claiming “Australia – a developing rugby powerhouse, you can’t take your eyes off them, they may surprise the Brazilians here today."

Notwithstanding his unfortunate slip, the broadcaster showed unusual foresight with this prediction. Despite losing the opener in a tightly fought encounter, Les Scheinflug’s team of underdogs would stun the football world by finishing top of a group featuring Brazil, Germany and Mali, progress to the finals, and ultimately take the reigning U-17 champions to penalties. This, then, is the forgotten story of the how the Joeys almost toppled the Samba Kings.

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It all started in South America.

After qualifying through Oceania and defeating Bahrain to secure a World Cup spot, the Joeys departed for Uruguay, Chile and Argentina in preparation for the tournament. As coach Scheinflug reflects, the tour built team chemistry and would ultimately prove a worthwhile investment.

“For the first time in my career with the various U17 and U20 teams we actually had a little bit of time together prior to the World Cup,” the 75-year-old says. “We had quite a few matches in South America, and we went to Argentina for the last couple of days and I gave them a let-off to recover. I think that whole tour really helped the team.”

According to Scheinflug, once described by SBSas “the godfather of Australian youth football”, this footballing education provided his young charges with invaluable experience for the forthcoming tournament in New Zealand.

“Australian players always have a strong mentality, but they needed to learn from other nations about the type of football they’d face at the World Cup – that’s why I took them to South America,” the former national team player and coach recalls. “The South Americans play good football, but they also know how to make it difficult for you to get past them.”

Their newly-gained experience proved useful against Brazil in the Joeys’ opening game of the tournament, with the Australians unlucky not to grab a point in trying Christchurch conditions. Despite conceding two goals through defensive blunders, a beautifully converted cross from Dylan Macallister had the Joeys searching for an equaliser. A foul on Josh Kennedy in the box minutes earlier could have seen Australia awarded a penalty, but the referee waved play on and the whistle would ultimately be blown before a second goal was found.

In spite of their valiant efforts against the defending champions, with games to follow against Germany and Mali many thought the chances of Australia progressing were slim.

“I don’t think given the opposition and the first match loss to Brazil that anyone would have thought they could get out of the group, let alone make the final,” says veteran football reporter Ray Gatt.

And certainly with the Joeys trailing Germany 1-0 in the second half, it appeared the Australians might be going home early and the South American tour had been a waste of time and precious resources.

“At half-time against Germany I just said ‘We are very close to scoring the equaliser, and if we do that we will win this game,’” recalls Scheinflug. “I was sure that we could win, and we did! Their coach was very upset – he didn’t expect us to play so well.”

Having topped their imposing group with a 1-0 win against Mali, the Joeys next faced Qatar in the quarter-final. After a scoreless first-half, substitute Joe Di Iorio volleyed a poorly-cleared corner into the back netting to secure Australia’s spot in the semi-final.

Standing between the Joeys and a historic place in the final, however, was an emerging football powerhouse in the United States of America, with a young Landon Donovan looking particularly dangerous. Despite taking an early two goal lead through Aaron Goulding and Scott McDonald, the Americans hit back immediately and found the equaliser shortly after half-time. Eventually the game descended to penalties, with Kenny Cutler’s miss handing the game to Australia.

“I remember the USA game was outstanding and very exciting, not to mention nerve racking. Donovan played and you could tell he was exceptional,” says Gatt.

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The Auckland North Harbour Stadium was packed, with a crowd of 22,859 squeezed in for an U17 game. In the rugby-loving country of New Zealand, attracting such a crowd to watch football is anomalous, and even more so when the home nation is not playing. Yet the spectators had their Trans-Tasman neighbours to support, and they certainly deserved a heartfelt cheer.

The Australians wanted vengeance. Having lost to Brazil in the opening game, and with the Socceroos suffering a 6-0 humiliation from the Brazilian senior side two years earlier, the Joeys were keen to settle the score.

“Revenge was on our mind,” says Macallister, who played in every match of the tournament for Australia. “The first game was physical and they did not like this, but we also had many skillful players that could match their class. We knew if we could shut them down offensively we were always dangerous going forward.”

After doing an admirable job containing the Seleção during the group stage, coach Scheinflug was confident that his side could match the reigning champions and cross the Tasman with trophy in hand.

“The final was much easier to prepare for, because we knew their players and could prepare for them. We believed they would be cocky and over-confident, and we could catch them on the break or from a dead ball.”

Neither side was able to score in the initial 90 minutes, and the game was forced to extra-time. It could have been so different though, with Di Iorio almost finding a late winner.

“Maybe three minutes before the end Di Iorio got pulled by the shirt just inside the 18-yard box, but nobody saw it,” Scheinflug reminisces. “He had a great strike on him – he would have finished the game and there would have been no penalty shoot-out!”

Having kept the Brazilians – and third top goalscorer of the tournament Leonardo – silent during regular time, hopes were mounting that the Joeys could pull off the incredible. As Gatt recalls, “Australia’s tactics were brilliant and they nullified the Brazilian attack. Both teams had their chances and we certainly weren’t outplayed.”

Neither side could add anything to the scoresheet in extra time, and for the second time in four days both teams would be leaving their fate in the hands of the penalty gods. Scheinflug, though, was not perturbed, having made his team practice penalties throughout the tournament.

“The funny thing was that we always believed we had a good goalkeeper and players who could take penalties, but the best penalty taker for our team [Mark Byrnes] missed the first one!”

Thankfully for Byrnes, the second Brazilian penalty taker Marquinhos had his shot saved by Jess Vanstrattan, and the ledger was even once more. And then it went – back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Having entered sudden death territory, Macallister, Goulding and Kennedy all dispatched the ball with ease, as did their South American counterparts.

“I had many family members in the crowd which helped and I remember the walk to the penalty spot taking a long time,” Macallister says. “I was only focusing on where I was going to place the penalty and I remember thinking how small the goalkeeper was. And the kick went in!”

Iain Fyfe’s penalty, however, would not have the same fortunate fate. A dramatic save from Rubinho sealed the game for the Brazilians, and the Joeys’ dreams of defeating the Samba Kings were dashed. Yet despite the cruel exit, Scheinflug prefers to remember the positive aspects of the performance.

“For a nation lacking in experience and without the resources and facilities for youth football that other countries have, those Australian boys did really well and I was very, very proud of them,” says the coach. “It would have been the icing on the cake to win the tournament, and I think the way they expressed themselves and dealt with the defeat made everybody proud.”

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One question, however, remains – how could this little-known Australian side almost win the U17 World Cup, beating the likes of Germany and the USA en route? How did a team with no apparent stars, boasting no golden boot winner or even a ‘Fifa rising star’, come within a penalty of defeating the reigning champions?

The answer, according to the manager and players alike, is teamwork.

“The reality is that we were a close-knit team on and off the pitch,” suggests James Johnson, a member of the Joeys squad who did not play in New Zealand due to injury. “We were better organised, disciplined and worked harder than any team in the competition. This is the way the Boss [as Scheinflug was called] trained us to play. We were tough to beat and had excellent team chemistry. This is why we were special. While I didn't expect us to be ‘push overs’, I didn't think we had enough quality to beat teams like Germany. I was wrong.”

Former Melbourne Heart striker Macallister concurs, highlighting the role Scheinflug played in crafting a team capable of matching it with Brazil.

“We had spent two years with the boss and he was a tough character to play for in the beginning but once you understood what he wanted, you could see what a great coach he was. He demanded discipline, respect and hard work and this really brought the group together and added to the team spirit. I believe we would not have achieved what we did without him.”

Achieve they did – becoming the first (and, at this stage, only) Australian national side to reach the final of a Fifa World Cup. With no Harry Kewells or Tim Cahills, and no easy group, a unified team defied the odds to push the Samba Kings all the way to penalties. And that, perhaps, made Fyfe’s miss all the more heart-breaking.

But a team that wins together loses together, and the final left Gatt with one enduring memory.

“I remember talking to Les afterwards and he still had tears in his eyes, not crying for himself but crying because all the players were inconsolable in the dressing rooms.”

This is an extract from Thin White Line, a new football culture magazine. Issue two will be released in July. Back issues are also available to buy at thinwhitelinemagazine.com